Tom and SJ

I took a ferry from Mazatlan to La Paz, in southern Baja Mexico.  I heard great things from other cyclists about Baja so I was really excited to hear what it was all about.  I made the trip on a cargo boat and slept on the deck at night.  We departed Mazatlan in the afternoon (about an hour after I arrived in Mazatlan!).  No rest for the wicked.

Mazatlan Coast

The boat ride took 18 hrs (the Sea of Cortes is not small!) and was fairly uneventful.  I was the biggest dirtbag and attraction on the boat of truckers, as I showered, did all my laundry in the sink and tied it to the handrails of the boat to dry.  I fixed a few slow leaks in my tires, and generally got some stuff sorted out that I had been ignoring for the past week.  I was preparing to hit the ground riding when I got to La Paz the following morning and wanted to be ready.  The road home is long and to get there by Christmas I had to keep the pace strong!

Arriving in Baja was exciting.  The landscape is barren desert.  The sunrises and sunsets spectacular, and nights tranquil.  I camped every night in Baja out in the desert under cool, quiet, starry skies.  I awoke before dawn every day to start riding before the wind picked up (which it did almost every day…headwind).  The scenery was beautiful and riding fairly uneventful, but highly enjoyable.  It would make a great bike tour in itself.  I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Cargo Boat

Baja Landscape

Fiery Sunset

Dusk

Pre dawn in Juncalito

Pelican, Juncalito

Sunrise over Cortes Sea

Baja Landscape

Baja Landscape

Baja Dusk

Baja Rollers

Dusk, Baja

Baja Sunset

20,000 kms